The International Rehabilitation Forum (IRF) is working to upskill more local physicians in physical medicine and rehabilitation. According to the IRF website, an estimated 80 percent of people with disabilities live in low-resource countries, yet these areas often lack the expertise needed to provide good quality rehabilitation to patients. The IRF estimates that there are fewer than 0,5 rehabilitation professionals per 10 000 people across Africa.
To address this, IRF established its fellowship programme through which it hopes to combat the shortage of physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists in low-resource regions.
“Since 2018, we have provided a two-year virtual physical medicine and rehabilitation training programme for local physicians in Africa, focusing on physical medicine and rehabilitation specialty knowledge, workforce development, and advocacy to integrate physical medicine and rehabilitation practices in their contexts,” the IRF states on its website. “Over three years, the initiative trained over 30 physicians in Ghana, Ethiopia, Cameroon, and South Africa.”
For 2024, there are seven South African doctors on the programme. A big thank you to IRF for its commitment to rehabilitation and thank you to the doctors participating in the programme. You can learn more about the programme on the IRF website.
